Novgorod First Chronicle

Novgorod First Chronicle

The Novgorod First Chronicle (Новгородская первая летопись) or The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016-1471 is the most ancient extant chronicle of the Novgorod Republic. It reflects a tradition different from the Kievan Primary Chronicle. As was first demonstrated by Aleksey Shakhmatov, the later editions of the chronicle reflect the lost Primary Kievan Code (Начальный Киевский свод) of the late 11th century, which contained much valuable data suppressed in the later Primary Chronicle.

The earliest extant copy of the chronicle is the so-called Synod Scroll, dated to the second half of the 13th century, first printed in 1841 and currently preserved in the State Historical Museum. It is the earliest known manuscript of a major East Slavic chronicle, predating the Laurentian Codex of the Primary Chronicle by almost a century. In the 14th century, the Synod Scroll was continued by the monks of the Yuriev Monastery in Novgorod.